Biography

Lorrie A. Shepard, PhD is University Distinguished Professor and Dean of the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on psychometrics and the use and misuse of tests in educational settings. Her technical work has contributed to validity theory, standard setting, and statistical models for detecting test bias. Her research studies on test use have addressed the identification of learning disabilities, readiness screening for kindergarten, grade retention, teacher testing, effects of high-stakes accountability testing, and most recently the use of classroom assessment to support teaching and learning.

Dr. Shepard is past president of the American Educational Research Association and past president of the National Council on Measurement in Education. She was elected to the National Academy of Education in 1992 and served as president of the NAEd from 2005-2009. Dr. Shepard has also served as editor of the Journal of Educational Measurement and of the American Educational Research Journal. She received the Distinguished Career Award from the National Council on Measurement in Education, the award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education from the American Educational Research Association, the 2005 Henry Chauncey Award for Distinguished Service to Assessment and Education Science from Educational Testing Service, and the 2006 David G. Imig Award for Distinguished Achievements in Teacher Education from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Education

PhD Research and Evaluation Methodology, University of Colorado Boulder, 1972MA Counseling, University of Colorado Boulder, 1970BA History, Pomona College, 1968

Research

My early work focused on technical aspects of test development such as standard setting, item bias detection, and validity theory. A cardinal principle of validity research, however, is that test validity depends on how a test is used. As a result, I began to consider contexts of test use. For example, should a readiness test—made up of old IQ test items—be used to keep children out of kindergarten?

My most recent work focuses on classroom assessment. Drawing on cognitive research and sociocultural theory, I examine ways that assessment can be used as an integral part of instruction to help students learn.

Teaching

My teaching interests focus on research methodology and on testing and assessment topics important to preservice teachers. I want to ensure that doctoral students in the School of Education have a solid grounding in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and that they know how to use tool skills associated with these methods in conducting systematic, disciplined studies on important topics. My goal for teacher candidates is that they be well prepared to use formative as well as summative assessments in their classrooms. Especially, they should be able to analyze assessment results to identify and respond to student needs and to revise instruction based on evidence of student learning.

Courses frequently taught

EDUC 5716: Basic Statistical Methods

Course Overview and ObjectivesThis course is designed to provide a broad overview of statistical concepts and procedures commonly used in the social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, education). The first part of the course will focus on descriptive statistics and the second part on inferential statistics. A goal of the course is to help students gain an understanding of statistics found in journal articles and in evaluation and policy reports published at the national, state, and district level. The idea is for you to become a thoughtful consumer of statistics, able to make sense of what the numbers mean--instead of only trusting the author to tell you what they mean--and to be aware of common fallacies. The goal of this first level course is not to make you a proficient data analyst. Students are asked to do simplified calculations by hand as a way of "seeing" how the numbers work. For example, how do changes in individual scores affect changes in a summary statistic? Students are also introduced to use of statistical software, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), as an easy way to obtain graphical displays and statistical summaries.

EDUC 7416: Seminar on Assessment of Student Learning

Course Overview and ObjectivesThis seminar is a special topics course focused on issues of assessment of learning and academic achievement in the current context of standards-based educational reform. Key ideas and understandings to be developed in the course include the following:

The traditional measurement concepts of reliability, validity, and fairness. How are these terms understood by measurement specialists? What should their meaning be for curriculum specialists and teacher educators?

The important differences between assessments conducted in classrooms as an on-going part of the teaching-learning process vs. externally mandated assessments used to monitor trends or to hold schools accountable.

Behaviorist learning theories of the past have shaped both teaching and testing practices. What are the implications of cognitive, constructivist, or situated learning theories for changing assessment practices?

The admirable intentions and controversial aspects of standards-based educational reform. What vision of assessment is put forward? Why does assessment have such a prominent place in the arguments for reform?

What is meant by "authentic" and "direct" assessment? What does it look like in each of the subject areas for assessments to embody meaningful content and processes? What assessment strategies--e.g., observations, performances, portfolios, projects, essays, and presentations--are effective in addressing substantive goals? How can these assessment strategies contribute to the learning process and what kind information do they provide?

What is the role of assessment in the learning process? How are expectations communicated to students and feedback used to guide improvement? How can assessments be used to get beyond "knows it" or "doesn't know it" to provide insights about the specifics of students' understandings and misconceptions that are held? How is a classroom culture created whereby teacher evaluations of performance are seen as fair and as valued coaching rather than as damaging to oneÌs relationship with students?

How should each of the general principles regarding assessment and assessment practices be modified to take account of the specific characteristics of students--especially students' age, language background, and special learning needs?

Service & Outreach

Selected Professional Service

National Academy of Sciences Board on Testing and Assessment, 1999-present.

Co-chair with Steve Gunderson, Panel on Improving of Education Research (PIER), provided recommendations to the Congress on reauthorization of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1999-2000.

President, American Educational Research Association, 1999-2000. Member of the AERA Council and Executive Board, 1998-2001.

Vice President, National Academy of Education, 1993-97.

President, National Council on Measurement in Education, 1982-83; Member of the NCME executive board as president-elect and immediate past-president 1981-84.

Shepard, L.A. (2001). The role of classroom assessment in teaching and learning. In V. Richardson (Ed.), The Handbook of Research on Teaching, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association. Technical Report 517. National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).

Shepard, L.A. (1997). Children not ready to learn? The invalidity of school readiness testing. Psychology in the Schools, 34, 85-97.

Shepard, L.A., & Graue, M.E. (1993). The morass of school readiness testing: Research on test use and test validity. In B. Spodek (Ed.), Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children. New York: Teachers College Press.

McLaughlin, M., & Shepard, L.A. (1995). Improving Education through Standards-Based Reform: A Report by the National Academy of Education Panel on Standards-Based Education Reform. Stanford, CA: National Academy of Education. May be ordered from the National Academy of Education at [www.naeducation.org/NAEd_Publications.html]

Shepard, L.A. (1995). Implications for standard setting of the National Academy of Education Evaluation of National Assessment of Educational Progress Achievement Levels. Proceedings from the Joint Conference on Standard Setting for Large-Scale Assessments. Washington, D.C.: National Assessment Governing Board and National Center for Education Statistics.

Shepard, L., Glaser, R., Linn, R., & Bohrnstedt, G. (1993). Setting performance standards for student achievement: A report of the National Academy of Education Panel on the Evaluation of the 1992 Achievement Levels. Stanford, CA: National Academy of Education. May be ordered from the National Academy of Education at: [www.naeducation.org/NAEd_Publications.html]